Call it the Rosé Wars: Brad Pitt is suing his ex-wife Angelina Jolie over what he says is the unauthorized sale of his stake in Chateau Miraval, the French winery he says is now enjoying success thanks to his “sweating” and his solo financial investments.
A civil case filed Thursday in Los Angeles says Jolie used legal means to circumvent agreed-upon contract terms and sold to an “aggressive third-party competitor” — a conglomerate owned by Russian vodka billionaire Yuri Shefler — who, Pitt says, is trying to take over his Miraval rosé business.
Pitt seeks a jury trial in an effort to overturn Jolie’s sale to Shefler’s subsidiary, Tenute del Mondo.
Despite discussions in recent years around a total or partial takeover by Pitt of Jolie’s shares in the company that owns and manages Château Miraval, the “Maleficent” actor is said to have withdrawn from talks with his ex last year, then concluded a sale of his shares without obtaining his approval, breaking an agreement between them.
The couple, who met on the set of the movie ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, acquired the estate years before getting married there in 2014. Although the two became legally single in 2019, their marriage procedure litigious divorce is still ongoing.
Pitt says in his lawsuit that he was led to mistakenly believe, before buying the property from an American wine lover, that it was self-sufficient. Upon learning that was not the case, Pitt embarked on a journey to put the snuff cellar up and make it profitable.
During the transformation, according to the lawsuit, it was Pitt who invested his money and effort without Jolie’s resistance. Husband and wife had a 60-40 split, respectively, when they bought the place. The company they had formed to own and manage Château Miraval joined forces in 2013 in a 50-50 joint venture with winemaker Marc Perrin’s company to turn Miraval’s business around.
By 2013, according to the document, amid preliminary renovations, Jolie had stopped contributing altogether. Although Pitt’s financial investment reached about 70% of the total, he authorized a 50-50 stock split in the controlling company.
In September 2016, Jolie filed for divorce.
Yet Pitt’s cellar plan had succeeded, with the chateau’s namesake Miraval rosé growing from the 6,000-bottle vintage that sold out immediately in 2013 to a range of rosé wines – including sparkling and lower-cost offerings – which brought in more than $50 million in revenue in 2021.
The former couple had discussed a full or partial takeover by Pitt in 2017 and again in 2019. Then in January 2021, according to the lawsuit, Jolie explained “she could no longer hold any ownership position in a business. based on alcohol given his personal objections.” The two resumed sales negotiations, continuing through mid-2021.
Then things took a turn, according to the lawsuit. Jolie’s reps cut off the talks. Pitt discovered in October that Jolie had made a sale to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, which is owned by Shefler.
Around this time, Jolie asked the court to lift certain prohibitions on selling properties as part of the divorce.
“When Angelina asked to be released from restrictions in the divorce case against the sale of a property pending resolution of all ownership issues, Brad consented in September 2021 except for the winery, stating clear that he did not consent to any sale of the house or wine business,” said Christopher C. Melcher, a Woodland Hills celebrity divorce attorney who reviewed the new case but did not work. on the Pitt-Jolie divorce. “If true, Angelina was notified in September that Brad had not consented to the sale.”
The lawsuit says Jolie “hid the discussions and refused to disclose the terms of her intended deal to Pitt. Pitt still doesn’t know what those terms are.
Since the deal was struck, Pitt’s company and Shefler’s company have been unable to agree on the management and strategic direction of the company that runs Chateau Miraval, the lawsuit says, and Pitt also complains that he can no longer enjoy his private residence, because it is co-owned by strangers.
“Brad claims that Angelina agreed that they would never sell their separate interests in the house and winemaking business without each other’s consent, but she broke that promise by selling her share without Brad’s consent” , said Melcher, who works for Walzer Melcher LLP. “The lawsuit was just filed, so Angelina didn’t provide her side of the story.”
Still, he said on Friday, “it was very risky for the buyer to pay anything for Angelina’s interest without Brad’s consent, as their ongoing divorce issues are well known.”
In addition to rescinding the sale, Pitt seeks restitution, unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and the imposition of a trust over Jolie’s shares in the company that ran Chateau Miraval.